Photos from the 1920s reveals the burlesque troupe of midgets who scaled the heights of Vaudeville
PUBLISHED:
17:42 GMT, 4 June 2012
|
UPDATED:
17:47 GMT, 4 June 2012
Back in 1920s America, the Hans
Kasemann Midgets were the biggest little thing in Vaudeville. Travelling
from theatre to music hall, the group of little performers put on dance
routines and comedy skits to delighted audiences across the U.S.
While
they stopped short of doing the full monty, like modern burlesque
dancer Dita Von Teese, they were at least more likely to fit in an
actual martini glass (rather than the over-sized receptacle that Von
Teese uses).
The Hans
Kasemann troupe featured the pint-sized Pick sisters, Olga and Auguste,
as well as stunted celebrities Anna Rockel and Willie Rolle - all
singing, all dancing, all vertically challenged.
Best foot forward: Burlesque acts of the 1920s
regularly featured a troupe of midget performers, such as the Hans
Kasemann Midgets
Little and large: Kasemann, seated at the piano, with Willie Rolle, Auguste Pick, Anna Rockel and Olga Pick
Hamming it up: From top to bottom, Auguste,
Olga, Willie and Anna. Apart from songs and dance, the troupe put on
vignettes and plays - such as the one being acted out by Auguste and
Willie Blaseri above right
Kasemann, himself a normal-sized if
not tall man, formed the troupe in his native Germany but moved the show
to the U.S. in the early 1920s.
While
he tickled the ivories of a full-sized piano, the tiny stars sang and
danced around him. At other times they took over the stage entirely,
performing vignettes and plays satirising the news of the day.
And,
while the Kasemann Midgets might have been described as a novelty act,
they were by no means unique. There were the Rose's Royal Midgets and
the Rossow Midgets, as well as the Klinkhart Midgets... to name but a
few.
Vaudeville was a
form of variety entertainment popular in the US until the early 1930s.
Each show was a collection of unrelated acts grouped together on one
stage. Musicians, comedians, dancers, magicians, animals, acrobats, and actors all got their 15 minutes of fame on the Vaudevillian stage.
Pick of the bunch: Auguste and Olga proved an irresistible duo during Vaudeville's heyday
All together: Members of the Kasemann troupe pose with members of the Klinkhart Midgets
Dressed up but serious: There are few smiles to
be had in this picture of the Kasemann troupe... the top hats are a nice
touch, and add a few all-important inches
Starlets: The Pick sisters were clearly the
stars of Hans Kasemann's troupe, seen above left with Kasemann and
flanking Willie Blaseri, and languishing atop the big man's piano in
exotic dress, above right
Back in the days of Hans Kasemann's
Midgets, 'burlesque' had a different meaning to the striptease style or
performance we know today.
Burlesque
was a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to be a humorous
caricature of serious literature, drama or music. The art form died out
in England at the end of the 19th century, but was popular in the U.S.
up until the death of Vaudeville.
It's
longevity in the U.S. was due to the gradual inclusion of exotic
dancers and strippers. The change was gradual but nonetheless
inevitable, and the word came to by synonymous with nudity.
Famous
burlesque dancers of the day included Gipsy Rose Lee and Margie Hart,
and many famous comedians - including Mae West, Abbott and Costello and
W.C. Fields made their names by being bawdy MCs for the dancers.
Getting in on the act: Kasemann rarely joined
the troupe for acting duties, but here is a photo of him in costume for
one of their many light-hearted plays
Doing a little washing: Members of the Kasemann troupe do some essential laundry in between their performances
Irving's Imperial Midgets: One of the main rival
acts for Hans Kasemann Midgets, this troupe managed to get around in an
early version of a stretch limo... the photographer could have stood a
little closer. yoru...@googlegroups.com
